Tangiers – Feeling the Blue in Chefchaouen

Feeling like we were on a real roll here as we were visiting yet another new port.

Standing guard at the mouth of the Strait of Gibraltar sits the port of Tangier.  The first views from the deck showed a modern cosmopolitan city but look a little harder and you can see the walls of the old town that protect the Kasbah and the bustling alleys of the medina.

Sunrise over Tangier

the fast ferry that takes you over to the European side of the Strait

Very nice cruise and passenger terminal where you had the choice of catching the port shuttle or making the short distance on foot.  The latter was the faster option as you needed to line up for a shuttle ticket (like tendering) if you wanted to travel by bus.

Meeting point for our tour.

But for us we were going to visit the beautiful Blue City known as Chefchaouen (chef shao wen).

Leaving the city behind us we headed out straight up to the Rif Mountains. Like a splash of colour Chefchaouen springs out against the green and brown of the countryside.

Beautiful valleys

No shortage of water in this dam

this is what they mean by stubborn as a mule

The sea of blue spanning the side of the mountain

Roadside stall selling beautiful Tagines and other pottery items

Within these walls is the labyrinth of blue and white alleys.  The bright vibrant colours of the ware the traders are selling turn this little town into a photographer's wonderland.

So many photos.... i will create a second blog entry called the doors of Chefchaouen.

beautiful handicrafts on display

Photo opportunities everywhere

A small creek runs through the village bringing the coldest of water from the top of the mountain to the base. Here you will see this restaurant making the most of the cool water and placing the tables and chairs in a position to keeps their guests cool.

no need for refrigeration.... we also saw some stall holders keeping their milk and soft drinks cold in the water.

just like a doby ghatt, these ladies run the local laundry...

we ate this delicious bread straight out of the oven

Why blue? 

There are a few stories that vie for the reason on why it is painted blue.  Could it be really true that blue repels mosquitos or was it the fleeing Jews who started the tradition because the blue reminded them of the sky and the presence of God.  Or is it just that the blue and white reflect the sun and help keep the houses cool….  Regardless of which one is true we are left with “The Blue Pearl of Morocco”

 

After our visit, we stopped and enjoyed lunch before heading back to Tangiers and making it back in time to enjoy a beautiful sail-away and waving goodbye to the blue seas of the Mediterranean and sailing into the Atlantic.

On such a hot day and being Sunday everyone was down at the beach.

Malaga – Heading to Alhambra in Granada

Tick Tick Tick, this is another new port crossed off our list of places we have not visited before.

Beautiful first glimpses as we stepped upstairs on the open decks

As the sun rose, so did the city right in front of our eyes

Malaga is a lovely port city on the Costa Del Sol. It would be easy to spend the day in this beautiful Spanish seaside city, with its spectacular buildings, parks, and sandy beaches. And if there is a next time, that is exactly what we will do ….

But today we decided to travel further afield and visit historical Granada and the amazing Alhambra.

We booked another great tour with Spain Day Tours, and they married the six of us up into a group of about 18 people and gave us a large 40-seater bus to take us on the 2-hour drive to Granada.  Stopping after an hour at a roadside café/souvenir store for a comfort stop and coffee.

The countryside was amazingly green and the agriculture just seem to spread out over mountain after mountain.

Constant little reminders of home.....

Hello Granada

Once arriving in Granada our bus climbed the hilltop until we reached our goal for the day.

“The Alhambra is Granada’s – and Europe's – love letter to Moorish Culture. Set against the brooding Sierra Nevada peaks, this fortified palace started life as a walled citadel before becoming the opulent seat of Granada’s Nasrid emirs”. This is how it is described by Lonely Planet.

And they were not wrong, it does not take much imagination to envisage how grand the area would have been.  With spectacular views and the magnificent “Generalife” gardens, it is the Nazaries Palace that has pride of place.

Through the centuries and the ever-changing occupations, you can still see signs of Roman and Christian influences in the structures within the complex.

Alhambra

Generalife Gardens

Pictures from the Palace of Nazare

Sorry for all the photos.... well no I am not as this place is so beautiful, I couldn't choose

one of the many tessellated tiles that can be found on the walls and floors of the palace

so ornate

spectacular views from the palace

After touring Alhambra, we were taken down to the town centre of Granada where we were left to explore on our own. 

hmm... look what everyone rubs for luck!

Everyone vying for the only bits of shade waiting for the bus

Heading back to the ship we were not left much time to do any other exploring in Malaga and we will have to leave that for our next visit.

Back in Malaga

On our return, we found out that we would be spending another couple of hours in port whilst divers cleaned any parasites that attached themselves to the hull of our ship.  This was an issue last year and there were a few ships that missed ports as certain port authorities would not allow them to sail in their waters.

Divers at work